NEWARK, Del., March 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Empowered to Lead. Inspired to Serve. This week, five outstanding student teams from middle and high schools and youth clubs across the nation were granted $5,000 in technology products as winners of the Lead2Feed Challenge Early Entry Drawing. These inspiring students and their teachers are active members of the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program, where leadership and service learning intersect for measurable results. Inspired and supported by Executive Chairman of Yum! Brands, David Novak, the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program helps fill a gap in middle and high school education with innovative leadership lessons.

Early Entry Drawing winners were randomly selected from registered teachers who completed and entered their Lead2Feed Challenge projects by March 18, 2016. In partnership with local charities, student projects completed ranged from collecting food and clothing to honoring veterans in local communities across the United States. The technology products include new computers and tablets that will not only aid teachers in educating their students, but will also enhance student development of 21st century leadership skills.

East Central High School – Guilford, IN: FCCLA chapter donated more than 750 items to St. Joseph's Orphanage to help children who struggle with mental health, educational and behavioral concerns

Coral Gables Preparatory Academy – Miami, FL: Established a student team called Care2Give and partnered with Give Our Students the World Charity to collect and provide food to feed food-insecure children for two months

Bellevue High School – Bellevue, IA: FBLA chapter held events to raise over $1,200 for Quilts of Valor and Puppy Jake Foundation. They also wrote letters to military members from the area to give back and honor local veterans

Kate Duncan Smith DAR High School – Grant, AL: FCCLA chapter created multiple student teams to help meet the needs of local children, families and domestic violence victims in their communities by donating food and clothing for the Salvation Army, collecting books and volunteering to read to pre-schoolers, pack weekend meals for local students in need and more.

Since its inception in 2012, student members have volunteered more than 25,000 hours to develop leadership skills, and for the opportunity to win over $275,000 in charity grants and $170,000 in technology grants for schools and clubs annually. Teachers/Advisors can register their student teams for the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program and enter the Lead2Feed Challenge online at www.lead2feed.org. The final Challenge deadline for all projects this school year is April 8, 2016.

"The Lead2Feed Challenge is an empowering program where students use 21st century leadership skills – such as collaboration, critical thinking, communication and innovation – to directly affect their communities in a tangible way," said Diane Barrett, Executive Director of the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning, Inc. "It is with these skills that participating students will grow to become successful leaders of the future, and bi-annual incentives such as the Early Entry Drawing further encourage students and teachers to get involved.

About Lead2FeedThe Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program was created by the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning and the Lift a Life Foundation, with assistance from the Yum! Foundation, to encourage middle and high school students to hone leadership skills by completing a service project around a community need involving a public non-profit (501c3).

About Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning The Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning, a 501(c)(3) organization, supports and builds alliances that enhance innovative, instructional programs and community outreach by providing the resources to promote new opportunities and participation. FILL is a supporting organization to the International Literacy Association. The foundation welcomes participation in efforts to engage, enlighten and inspire today's students and educators by opening their classrooms to the real world. The Foundation seeks funding from other foundations, private companies and organizations to help provide educational programs for elementary, secondary schools, community colleges and/or programs in specific disciplines or curriculum areas. The Foundation works with interested parties to collaborate on the creation of an educational program that meets the mission and goals for respective companies or organizations.

About Lift a Life Foundation The Lift a Life Foundation was established in 1999 by David and Wendy Novak. The mission of the Lift a Life Foundation is to lead the way with innovative programs that help people in need and develop future leaders. The Foundation focuses on creative partnerships that make a lasting impact in the primary areas of hunger relief, early childhood education, juvenile diabetes, military family support and leadership development. Since Lift a Life Foundation began, it has helped thousands of people in need through grants and programming support. David Novak is Executive Chairman of Yum! Brands, one of the world's largest restaurant companies with nearly 43,000 KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants in more than 130 countries and territories, and author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book, TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen. He has been recognized as "2012 CEO of the Year" by Chief Executive magazine, one of the world's "30 Best CEOs" by Barron's, one of the "Top People in Business" by FORTUNE and one of the "100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World" by Harvard Business Review. In the April 2015, he received the prestigious 2015 Horatio Alger Award for his commitment to philanthropy and higher education and became a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. He is the recipient of the 2012 UN World Food Program Leadership Award for Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief effort that raises awareness, volunteerism and funds to address this global problem. He also received the national 2008 Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. Wendy Novak is a lifelong philanthropist and volunteer. She served on the board of Directors for the Kentucky Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

About Yum! Brands, Inc.Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has nearly 43,000 restaurants in more than 130 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #228 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of over $13 billion in 2015 and is one of the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders in North America. The Company's restaurant brands – KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell – are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Worldwide, the Yum! Brands system opens over six new restaurants per day on average, making it a leader in international retail development.